1. Technical Field
The present application relates to a container handling arrangement for handling beverage containers, including glass beverage bottles.
2. Background Information
Background information is for informational purposes only and does not necessarily admit that subsequently mentioned information and publications are prior art.
The present application relates to a container handling arrangement, such as a transport star wheel for transporting containers, comprising a transport compartment or star compartment designed to accommodate and hold or handle a container.
To convey a container, such as a glass or plastic bottle, through a container treatment system, transport star wheels are often used. Star wheels are rotary devices that transport the containers on a circular track or path. For this purpose the transport systems are matched to the respective container type and size.
The term “containers” should be understood hereinafter to mean essentially any kind of packing unit. However, the most common examples of containers relating to the present application include, but are not limited to, beverage containers such as glass bottles, cans, or plastic bottles (such as PET bottles).
During transport, a container coming from a feeding transport element and/or from a container treatment machine is taken up by the transport compartment of the container handling machine or star wheel. In this situation the containers lie on one or more contact points in the compartment. Due to the fact that the transport star wheels are mostly made of metal, such as steel, or already carry decoration elements, there is a risk that the containers or the decoration elements may be damaged or destroyed. In order to allow for gentle transport of the containers, for example of glass containers, a protective body, usually made of a softer material than the steel, is generally screwed to the transport star wheel in the region of the contact point of the container.
Due to the high speed of the containers and the vibrations occurring in the container system, the protective bodies are subject to high mechanical loading. Consequently, it is not uncommon for the protective bodies to be damaged, for example by being split, and/or to experience heavy wear. This makes frequent replacement of individual or all or some protective bodies necessary and/or desired.